by Amelia Jade
That didn't cost him anything since it was the truth plain and simple. Sam inhaled and opened his mouth as if to say something, but before he could, Calan rushed ahead, letting the words he needed to say flow.
"Also, listen. I want to apologize for the way I treated you in high school that last year I was here. You didn't deserve it, but I didn't know better at the time. I can't go back and fix it, but I can apologize for it."
He felt silly, talking about something that had happened so long ago, when both of them were still pimply-faced adolescents. The cloud of his actions had hung over him for the past week though, as he had been forced to work with Sam several times. Neither of them had said a word, but it was clear that neither party had forgotten how things had been left between them.
The last time Calan had seen Sam before he left town, he had embarrassed him in front of all the high school kids in next door King City. Bear Bluffs was too small to have its own high school, so they had taken the bus every day for half an hour to reach King City High. It had been early April and Sam, two years his junior, had just tried asking a girl on a date. She had turned him down and Calan, who had witnessed the entire thing, had gone and pointed it out to the entire nearby populace.
He felt terrible as he remembered how Sam had turned beet red and almost broken down in tears as he fled the laughter and jeering. It wasn't his strongest memory, but it had come roaring back when he first exchanged pleasantries with Sam upon his arrival. Since then he had been meaning to do his best to make amends, but the time had never seemed right. Now, with nobody around, perhaps the two of them could begin anew.
"You know, I hung on to that for a long, long time Calan."
Or perhaps not.
"And then you know what happened? I graduated high school. After leaving that behind, I realized nobody out there knew. Hell, most of the people at school forgot in a few months once I looked back on it. Consider it water under the bridge."
He stuck out his mug, and Calan met him halfway, the clinking sounding loudly in the empty bar. They may never become the best of friends, he thought, but at least he could say that there was no bad blood.
"So, you and Harley, how's that working out for you?" There was a bit of a smug grin behind Sam's face when he asked the question. Not much, but it was enough for Calan to catch it out of the corner of his eye.
"I think you know damn well," he replied gruffly, though there was no anger in his voice. It was obvious to anyone who took a moment to pay attention that something was going on between the two of them. It appeared to be purely a one-way 'thing', but Calan knew she had feelings, he could sense her reaction every time he got close to her.
What he couldn't figure out was why she was so guarded, so unwilling to let him in. If he could just speak with her candidly, lay it all out, she might let down her walls for him. Unfortunately, every time he tried, she either glared at him or walked away. He could practically taste the fear on her each time as well, which is why he had backed off a bit.
"It's going to be a long, lonely road trying to tame that one, Cal," Sam commented. Something about the way he spoke, something in his tone of voice, tipped Calan off that he knew more than he was letting on. He wasn't sure what, but now that he had an opening, he intended to find out.
"What do you mean? Sounds like you know from experience." It was a stab in the dark, but it also made the most sense, given the other man's cryptic words.
"That's because I do." Sam took another deep drink of his frosty beverage
Calan merely raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to continue.
"She hasn't been here long. It was, I guess, three years or so ago now that she showed up, rather worse for wear."
"What happened?" Calan's curiosity was piqued now. Perhaps now he would learn something of import as to why Harley was giving him the cold shoulder.
"She was seeing a human, a real jerkoff by the sounds of it. He cheated on her a lot, kept using her for money. Just when she was ready to leave him, he'd always have some sort of reason, and she just kept going back to what she knew. Finally, she came to her senses and left him."
Calan took another sip before he queried Sam some more. This was valuable insight into his mate, but he needed to know what the last straw had been. What had this man done to her that had made her closed off to him? He sought that information like a bear after honey or a bee looking for pollen. It consumed him.
"What happened at the end?" he urged when Sam didn't immediately explain.
"Apparently he went and got some other girl pregnant, but tried to get Harley to help pay for its raising. That was just too far off the deep end for her I suppose."
"No shit, I should hope so." His bear's anger was roaring, demanding that he find the lowlife who had mistreated Harley, and show him a thing or two. With a mental effort, he fought the urge down, telling his bear that even if this unknown was a dick, he was still a father. Hurting someone who had a young one relying on them was not the type of person that Calan was.
"So, how do you know all this? She won't tell me anything at all."
"A few months after she showed up, I tried to take her on a date. I guess she was feeling polite, because she told me that she just wasn't ready for another guy yet. That was two and a half years ago, and she's never been with a guy yet, that I know of at least."
Sam didn't seem to be too upset about it, nor was he giving off any sort of warning either. To Calan, that indicated a go-ahead for him to try his luck with claiming Harley. He was thankful for that, indicating so with a little raise of his mug. Sam tilted his head in response before taking a quaff of his own beer, finishing it as he did.
"Now if I could only get her alone for a few minutes, to actually talk with her." There was a hint of frustration in his voice, though he tried to hide it. It wouldn't do to admit that Harley was posing a far larger problem to him than any woman in his past. Although he tried not to be arrogant, Calan knew he was good looking. Before he had decided to slow things down, find a mate and hopefully raise some cubs, he had used those good looks to devastating effect with at least a few other women.
He tossed back the last of his beer and rose, the chair making something akin to a sigh of relief as it was freed from bearing his weight. Throwing some money down on the bar to cover both of their drinks, he clapped Sam on the shoulder and began to walk out. Perhaps a weight room session would help improve his mood he thought.
"Hey, Calan." He stopped and turned back as Jet called his name out. The bartender had never said much to him, but they were both bear shifters, and oftentimes very little had to be said between them. There was an accepted respect level on both of their parts that had been very peaceful for both of them, often a rarity when two alpha males were in close proximity. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that while he was busy pursuing Harley, Jet had someone else in mind. Either way, it had been a relief to both men that they could co-exist without having to butt heads.
"She often goes out with her bear up to Snow Pass, up the valley -"
"I know where it is actually, Jet, but thank you for the information." He didn't apologize for interrupting the man, for his brain was already processing that information.
Yes, Calan Winters knew exactly where Snow Pass was. He was intimately familiar with the area, in fact. It seemed fitting that would be where he could find his mate. A long, long time ago, he had even had a word for that area. He didn't know if it still applied, but for the first part of his life, Snow Pass had meant only one thing to him.
Home.
***
Chapter Six
Harley
It was hard for Harley to imagine a more perfect day. The sky was bright with rays of sun, the warmth of its kiss banishing clouds from sight. Her bear ambled along, enjoying the freedom of the open field. Tall grasses brushed against her bear's belly as the brilliant sun heated her coat to a delightful temperature. It was such a wonderful, relaxing day that she stopped and sat for a moment, her bear sof
tly chuffing its contentment as she rolled around, acting just like a little cub.
After the previous week, a day off like this was sorely needed, she told herself. The stress of being forced to work with Calan each shift was wearing on her. He never acted inappropriately while they were on duty, yet she couldn't handle being near him.
Each time he flexed his arms she flushed with embarrassment as her body went into overdrive with hormones. When he spoke, she went weak in the knees like a cheesy movie heroine. If that wasn't enough, she had soaked her panties in warm honey more than once as he brushed up against her while they accomplished one task or another. It was always harmless, yet she could feel his hardness from time to time as well. It drove her wild until she went home every night and brought herself to an explosive orgasm in a desperate search for relief.
After the second day of working closely with Calan, she had gone to her father, begging and pleading with him to change the shifts. He had been unwilling to budge, despite her passionate plea.
"Harley Jane Hammond, you are a grown woman. I don't know what your issue is with him, but figure it out like an adult. That is enough nonsense," he had said. She felt like a little girl having a temper tantrum, but she was unwilling to go down without a fight.
"Just put me on the damned morning shift, that's all I'm asking. Hell, I've worked the evening shift since I joined the force. Isn't there something in the manuals about rotating staff through various positions? I'm sure it's in there if you look deep enough."
"Actually, daughter of mine, it isn't." He sighed, pushed his chair back from the desk and came around it toward her. Wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug, he held her close. Moments of familiarity like that between them were few and far between, so despite her frustration with him, Harley had hugged him back as hard as she could. Somehow, she still didn't know exactly how almost a week later, he had managed to diffuse the tension with that simple act.
"Just give it time, Harley, it'll all work out. You'll see."
She knew what he meant though she wasn't ready to accept it yet. There was still a dull, aching, emptiness where James had been. Not him as a person, because Harley was smart enough to know now that he was an asshole she should have left far earlier. No, it was the pain of having been so badly duped and betrayed that kept her frozen to anyone, including Calan.
With a grunt, her bear interrupted the reverie, bringing the relaxation of the afternoon back into focus. She smiled internally, since her other half could be obnoxiously single-minded. Sometimes, however, it was actually what she needed. Harley vowed to remember, that sometimes, she should listen to the bear side of her and not the human side.
Like now, when it was telling her that it had detected another presence. The scent was faint, not strong enough to be distinguishable on its own, but different enough from the background smells for her bear to have picked it up.
Not feeling like being disturbed, Harley picked herself up off the now-flattened grass of the small hillock she had been rolling on and headed east, up the mountain. She wasn't worried about being harmed, for there were few things out there that could taken on an enraged human-bear shifter, and most of those were other human shifters. In reality, the only thing that could outright hurt her was a dragon shifter, but they were rare around these parts.
Calming her bear’s fighting instinct, she instead slowly meandered farther up the mountain toward Snow Pass. This entire area had been abandoned as far as Harley could tell. Since she was not from Bear Bluffs originally, she had no idea why. In an attempt to ensure she went undisturbed, she had never asked anyone either. That way, nobody would know where to find her when she wanted to be alone.
Besides, coming up here had always brought about a sense of peace and belonging to her. Something about it just screamed to her bears senses, as if she was welcomed upon the land. It felt silly to her even thinking about it, but there was a definite sense of something when she was up here.
She tested the air again and realized that today it was a sense of persistence. Someone, or something was following her. The scent was back, tantalizingly familiar and yet unrecognizable all at once. She headed into a copse of coniferous trees, hoping that whoever was following her would get the point as she actively tried to put some distance between them. Her bear opened up into a shuffling run, covering ground swiftly this time instead of the earlier slow-footed plodding.
Just as she broke through into the clearing on the far side, she heard crashing from within the stand. Whoever it was had detected that she was fleeing and was pursuing her at top speed. With a deep growl of annoyance she switched it up another gear, practically flying across the field in an attempt to stay alone.
She was no more than halfway there before she felt, rather than saw, the presence on her left. With another, much louder growl, she spun away from it and slammed to a halt, finally glimpsing her pursuer for the first time, claws out and ready for a fight.
Crouched nearby on all fours, ready to tussle, was a grizzly bear with a lopsided bear-smile on its face, chuffing its delight.
Oh, shit!
It was Calan, the one man she didn't want to be stuck out here alone with. Now though, the only thing separating them were a few rocks, a hedge growing randomly and several flowers that had grown to a very large size, purple and white petals scattered everywhere after her berserk passage through them.
She growled loudly, a warning for him to leave her alone, then turned and began to move off, hoping he would get the hint. Which, of course, meant that a few seconds later he nudged her in the side again as his bear overtook her once more.
She roared and slammed her body into his, attempting to drive home her point. Instead, he recovered and jumped on her, doing his best to wrestle her to the ground while in their bear forms. The two of them rolled across the meadow, each trying to get the upper hand. His larger size and strength won out, but instead of pressing the battle, he pinned her quickly and then rolled off, shifting back into his human form.
"If you do, I'll just catch you again," he said casually as she tensed, preparing to run.
She growled in irritation at how well he seemed to know her, before shifting to her human form so that the two of them could at least converse. It seemed that no matter what she desired, this conversation was going to happen.
She sat on a nearby rock, one that was only big enough for her. It was a small gesture of defiance, but one that she was going to make nonetheless. If he was going to force her to talk, she was going to make it as painful and awkward as she could. Internally, Harley knew she was being childish, that this man, in particular, hadn't done anything to hurt her. He was still a man though, and she had been badly hurt by the last one she let close. There was no way Harley was letting that happen again!
"How the hell did you even know where to find me?"
Calan didn't respond immediately to her question, pondering his answer for some time before he spoke again.
"Harley, this is Snow Pass."
"Yeah, I'm not stupid, Calan. What's your point?"
"And my last name is?" he prompted, a gentle smile upon his face. He was guiding her toward some realization, but she still wasn't sure what. At least, she thought to herself, he isn't being overly patronizing about it.
"Winters..." she trailed off, realizing that there must be a relationship between the two, but not understanding it.
"This used to be my home, Harley," he said so softly she didn't clue in for a moment.
Then the full import of his statement hit her like a load of flying bricks. Of course he would be up here. He hadn't stumbled upon her, instead she had trespassed onto his freaking property! She fumbled for something to say, but Calan continued on before the words came to her.
"In fact, the house I grew up in is just over that rise. Would you like to see it?"
Harley was stunned at the offer. His parents had been killed in an awful accident she knew, though she had been unable to figure out what type. Shortly after t
hat, Calan had skipped town, leaving the place locked up. He must have paid some attention to it, otherwise the government would have reclaimed it. Now he was offering to show her something painful from his past. Could she do the same?
"It's this way," he said when she didn't reject his offer, gently taking her hand and pulling her along after him. She followed along without much in the way of resistance. If Calan was willing to open up like this to her, she would at least be polite and go along with it.
"Calan, it's beautiful," she said in awe as they crested the rise, bringing his childhood house into view. It was a two-story log building, built up in the middle of a clearing. Large, mature trees surrounded the property, though the undergrowth had crept closer in the past few years, taking over much of the cleared area and the gravel driveway.
Evidence of recent work was everywhere, whether it be piles of cut brush, a huge amount of fresh gravel ready to be laid down around the entryway, or even the freshly cleaned exterior of the house. Clearly Calan was getting ready to move back in.
"I'm getting it ready to live in again. It's been untouched since..." he paused unexpectedly and she glanced over at him.
All manner of emotions played across his face, some too fast for her to pick up on, but others were clearly easy to read. Anger, a vast, deeply buried anger was visible as his jaw clenched, relaxed, and then clenched again. She could hear his knuckles crack as he squeezed his fists as tight as they would go. Then, for just the briefest flicker of a moment, she saw past the angry exterior. The walls jumped back into place so quickly it could have been imagined, but Harley knew what she had seen.
He's in pain.
Harley wasn't sure why that thought surprised her so much, but it did. Of course he would hurt. This was where he had grown up, with both parents in a presumably loving environment. Then, when he was just a kid, he had lost both of them in an instant. Unable to deal with the grief, he had fled, tramping his way across the country, never leaving any roots. Nothing to tie him down, or remind him of what he had.
